Sharing My Recipes, My Life, And The Food Tale Of Two Cities

Pappardelle Alfredo With Asparagus Tips Topped With Blackened Chicken

by Linda Lou Hamel on December 27, 2014

I so love Pappardelle pasta. Those wide pasta noodles grab onto everything, and with an Alfredo sauce clinging to them has to be the bomb. For this recipe I find the best way to start is with the chicken.

I’m use chicken cutlets for this recipe. They are thinner that the regular chicken breasts so they cook a lot faster. I have some blackened seasoning that I spread on both sides of the chicken. It has a bunch of different spices in this blend, so I don’t use any extra salt. In a large cast iron skillet, that I’ve preheated, I melt a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter, and I sear the chicken off in batches of three. Around 3-4 minutes on the first side, then 2-3 minutes on the second side. You want to make sure they are cooked all the way through. Some of the cutlets may be slightly thicker, so those I’ll let sear a little longer if needed. When all the cutlets are done then I slice them on the bias. I place them on a heat proof plate, cover them with foil, and set into a 225 degree oven to stay warm while I get the Alfredo sauce, and asparagus ready. I’m just going to blanch the asparagus in some hot salty water for just a minute. Dump them right into some ice water to shock them and stop their cooking. Slice the asparagus on the bias and set aside until I’m ready to add to the dish.

In a sauce pot, on med heat, I warm up some milk and heavy cream together. Because I’m going to add in a good amount of freshly grated Parmigiano- Reggiano, I’m not adding any salt. The cheese has a salty bite to it and I don’t want the dish to be too salty. Heat up the milk and cream just long enough to where bubbles start to appear around the rim. In another large deep sided pan I melt butter, then whisk some flour in to make a Roux. Once all the raw flour is cooked out, I pour the hot milk and cream in whisking the whole time.Then I add in some freshly grated nutmeg and black pepper. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens. Change to a wooden spoon before adding in the cheese. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the cheese in until it’s all combined. Now the Alfredo sauce and chicken done, next is to cook the pasta. What I do is have the water boiling on the back burner while I’m making the Alfredo sauce so it’s ready for the past to go in.

Cook the pasta according to the package. I like to reserve some of the starchy pasta cooking liquid. I add it to the sauce after I tossed the pasta through if it needs thinning out a bit. After I’ve tossed the pasta through, I dump the blanched asparagus in the pasta water just to heat them through really quickly before adding it to the finished Pappardelle Alfredo.

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I finish the dish with the sliced blackened chicken on top. This dish is so delicious and comforting that I’m sure once you try it, you’ll be making it again and again.

Prep time: 10 minutes ( you just want to make sure you have all the ingredients pre-measured out, or grated, and the chicken seasoned)
Cook time: 35-40 minutes (varies on how much chicken you have)
When doing chicken in batches, set oven on 225 degrees to keep chicken warm

Directions:
Start with searing off all the chicken cutlets, Set them in a 225 degree oven covered with foil until ready to slice. Have a large pot of boiling water ready and waiting for you to salt it and throw the pasta in. While the water is boiling, start the Alfredo sauce. Make sure you have all your ingredients are measured out, or grated, so they are ready when you need to add then to the sauce. Remember to remove the sauce from the heat when adding the cheese in. When the sauce is done, cover it while you add salt to the boiling pasta water and add the pasta. When pasta reaches the al dente stage add the pasta to the Alfredo sauce tossing it through gently. If the sauce has thickened too much ladle in some of the pasta water to thin it out. This is when I toss in the cut asparagus right into the same water that I cooked the pasta in. Just for a minute to heat it back up. Then with a slotted spoon add the asparagus into ( but not stirring through) the Pappardelle Alfredo. Pull the chicken cutlets out of the oven, slice on the bias and top over the bowl of Alfredo pasta. You could of course just add the chicken in the with the pasta and toss everything through. I just like to see the blackened chicken, and the bright green asparagus on top.

Let’s Dish With Linda Lou

Hello

Linda Lou And Melissa

Hello, thank you so much for stopping by. I'm Linda Lou, a single parent of a beautiful daughter named, Melissa. She's now currently, continuing her education, while living in San Fran. CA. Myself, I live in Orlando, Florida, in a great neighborhood known as College park. I learned how to cook at a very early age from my mother, who was from England, also my grandmother, who was from Italy. Two very different types of cuisine. I believe, that both styles shine through in my recipes. Living in such a warm climate, I'm lucky enough to be able to grow all my own herbs. As often as I can, I take advantage of our farmer's market, where I buy seasonal and local ingredients. I've lived in Orlando for many years and watched the culinary industry grow beyond belief. We have great chefs and terrific cuisine all over the state. I'm going to be sharing my recipes, my life, and giving a peek into the culinary world of two cities, Orlando and San Francisco.